Not long after, the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada was put up for auction.
Many people from Spirit Beast Mountain knew about this Spirit Insect, so even if the auctioneer introduced it with exaggerated praise, only a few participated in the bidding.
This was considered a niche item.
The starting bid for the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada was twenty Spirit Stones, and it was intermittently pushed up to forty-three Spirit Stones.
Li Feiyu bid fifty Spirit Stones and successfully acquired the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada egg.
The auction quickly moved to the third to last item, the auction of a Talisman Treasure.
Originally, when a Talisman Treasure was auctioned, the Cultivators were still highly enthusiastic, but upon hearing that it could only be activated one more time, many immediately lost interest.
"Red Lightning Roar Talisman Treasure, starting bid sixty Spirit Stones, each increase in bid must not be less than five Spirit Stones."
After all, it was a Talisman Treasure; even if it could only be used once, it could save one's life at a critical moment, so the starting bid would not be too low.
If it were a complete Talisman Treasure, it would start at least at four hundred Spirit Stones, and the final price could reach five or six hundred Spirit Stones.
Ordinary top-tier Magical Artifacts simply could not match the power of a Talisman Treasure; only a few exquisite and supreme top-tier Magical Artifacts might be able to.
However, those Magical Artifacts were much more expensive than Talisman Treasures.
As for this one, if it could be auctioned for one hundred thirty Spirit Stones, the auction house would be very grateful.
Li Feiyu did not dither this time, but immediately bid one hundred Spirit Stones, which greatly frustrated the Qi refining Disciples who wanted to feel involved.
"One hundred eleven Spirit Stones!" It was that young Foundation Establishment Cultivator from before.
"One hundred fifteen!" Another Foundation Establishment Cultivator spoke.
"One hundred thirty Spirit Stones!" Li Feiyu's calm voice came from VIP Room Number Three.
"One hundred thirty-five Spirit Stones!"
...
Soon, the price of this Talisman Treasure reached one hundred fifty, and only Li Feiyu and the young Foundation Establishment Cultivator remained in contention.
But by now, that young Foundation Establishment Cultivator felt that going higher was not worth it, yet he just couldn't swallow his pride, so he gritted his teeth and persisted.
"One hundred fifty-five Spirit Stones! Junior Brother, are you still continuing?"
Li Feiyu smiled coldly, "One hundred sixty Spirit Stones!"
"Senior Brother, I, your Junior Brother, still have some savings and can hold on."
"You!"
The young Foundation Establishment Cultivator was greatly angered and gave up again.
"Let you be proud; when we leave the auction, I want to see which Junior Brother of Spirit Beast Mountain you actually are!"
"Congratulations again to the distinguished guest in VIP Room Number Three for acquiring this Talisman Treasure!"
"Next is a bottle of True Essence Pills, a total of six pills, which can enhance the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Stage."
"Starting bid one hundred Spirit Stones!"
...
This bottle of True Essence Pills ultimately sold for four hundred fifty Spirit Stones.
Finally, it was the grand finale, the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The Foundation Establishment Pill's three main ingredients—Jade Marrow Ganoderma, Purple Monkey Flower, and Heavenly Spirit Fruit—are all Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Medicine that do not produce seeds and can only be cultivated from seedlings.
However, Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Medicine are extremely picky about their growing environment; besides some Forbidden Lands and ancient medicine gardens, they simply cannot be grown in the outside world, and even if they could be planted, the cost would be enormous.
Currently, besides obtaining these Spiritual Plants from the Blood Forbidden Trial every ten years, the Seven Sects have no other source.
Furthermore, the other auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill often take several hundred years to mature, making them exceptionally rare.
Aside from the Immortal Sects and great sects, ordinary Qi refining Cultivators might spend their entire lives unable to gather all the Spiritual Plants on a Foundation Establishment Pill Pill Formula, not to mention that the refining difficulty of the Foundation Establishment Pill is extremely high, far exceeding Spirit Pills like True Essence Pills and Spirit Gathering Pills.
All these reasons lead to the persistently high price of the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Each time it appears, it causes a frantic scramble among Qi refining Disciples.
As the consignor, Li Feiyu merely enjoyed the fervent scene of the Cultivators below from VIP Room Number Three.
"Three hundred Spirit Stones!"
"Four hundred fifty Spirit Stones!"
"Six hundred Spirit Stones!"
...
The price rapidly increased, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, but no one was willing to give up.
It wasn't until the price reached one thousand five hundred Spirit Stones that some Qi refining Great Perfection Disciples, whose financial resources were stretched thin, reluctantly gave up.
Cultivation is like crossing a single-plank bridge; often, people fight fiercely over a single resource, even resorting to murder.
The Great Dao is a solitary path, only one person can cross.
Therefore, no one is willing to give up until their limit is reached.
Even if they can't acquire it at the auction, many will take risks and find ways outside the auction.
It can be said that participating in an auction is a high-risk activity with great danger.
Ultimately, the Foundation Establishment Pill was acquired by a Genius Qi refining Great Perfection Disciple from the Zhong Family of Spirit Beast Mountain for two thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones.
He was only eighteen years old but had already reached Qi refining Great Perfection, earning him great importance from his Family, who believed he had the potential for Core Formation, thus sparing no effort to help him acquire this Foundation Establishment Pill so he could enter the Foundation Establishment Stage as early as possible.
After the auction ended, Deacon Huang sent the acquired items to Li Feiyu's room.
"Junior Brother Han, the Flowing Cloud Boots, the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada, and this Talisman Treasure, a total of six hundred Spirit Stones. How do you plan to pay?"
Li Feiyu said, "Does the auction accept bartering?"
Deacon Huang was stunned for a moment, "Bartering? Junior Brother Han, you can clearly use the proceeds from the Foundation Establishment Pill auction to offset it."
"I have a use for the Spirit Stones, so I plan to pay with other items. Is that okay?"
Deacon Huang smiled, "Of course, that's fine."
Li Feiyu took out a seven-hundred-year-old Polygonum Multiflorum, "Senior Brother Huang, do you think this item is enough?"
Deacon Huang's eyes lit up, "It seems Junior Brother Han has quite a few good things."
Li Feiyu's lips curved slightly, "No, really, this is the last Spiritual Plant I have."
Deacon Huang naturally didn't believe him, "Junior Brother Han, the Foundation Establishment Pill auction proceeds are two thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones. After deducting a two percent handling fee, the remaining amount is two thousand seven hundred forty-four Spirit Stones. Plus the other Magical Artifacts, a total of one hundred fifty Spirit Stones, for which I won't charge you a handling fee."
"A total of two thousand eight hundred ninety-four Spirit Stones; please check them."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Huang."
After Li Feiyu's Spiritual sense counted them, he put them all into his Storage Pouch.
"Senior Brother Huang, then I'll take my leave first."
Deacon Huang nodded, a bright smile on his face, "Junior Brother Han, be careful on your way. It's a dark and windy night; don't let anything happen to you."
He was afraid they wouldn't come... Li Feiyu smiled and swaggered out of the auction.
Not long after Li Feiyu left, Deacon Huang's expression suddenly turned cold. Soon after, six people affiliated with the auction changed into plain clothes and also left, heading in the same direction as Li Feiyu.
Nearly three thousand Spirit Stones, plus an unknown amount of rare Spiritual Plants on him, were enough to tempt the auction house to strike!
"Junior Brother Han, don't blame me for being ruthless; blame yourself for having too low a cultivation level yet possessing immense wealth."
Not long after leaving the auction, Li Feiyu knew he was being followed. A cold smile appeared on his lips as he flew towards his Immortal Cave.
About twenty li from the market, the auction house's people could no longer hold back and directly attacked Li Feiyu.
"You are... people from the auction house? What are you planning to do? Does Senior Brother Huang know?"
"Haha, asking the obvious. Possessing immense wealth without knowing it, countless people like you have died in the Cultivation World."
"Don't blame us; blame yourself for being too naive!"
Li Feiyu showed no panic, smiling coldly, "Yes, naive people don't go far in the Cultivation World."
"One twelfth-level Qi refining , five tenth-level Qi refining ; that's acceptable, I guess."
"Hehe, I've been waiting for you for a long time!"
At this moment, Li Feiyu released the hidden extent of his cultivation, and his surging, powerful Foundation Establishment Stage magical power radiated outwards, causing the surrounding vegetation to sway incessantly.
"Foundation... Foundation Establishment Stage?!"
"You baited us?!!!"